Update (January 28th 2022): UK esports organisation Rix.GG has announced its first Huntress Trials Valorant tournament of the new year, for women and marginalised genders.
It will start on Saturday February 19th at 12 midday GMT and will continue on Sunday February 20th at the same time.
The competition will feature up to 32 teams in total from across the EU and the UK (they can sign up here), in a 5v5 single-elimination bracket best of 3 format. Winners from the bracket will advance to the Grand Final which will be a best of 3 (Bo3) with a chance to take home the first prize.
The February prize pool is £2,000. The winners of the event will receive £1,000, second place £500 and 3rd and 4th place will be awarded £250.
The casters for this event will be the returning Samantha ‘NaoriMizuki’ Timms and Layla ‘TK Layla’ Abbott. Overseeing the tournament will be tournament and events manager, Umar ‘Maru’ Aswat, with the support of admins Nicole ‘Wolf’ Sølvmose, and Jorden ‘Raen’ Dakin-White, as well as Observer Samantha ‘Benolot’ Fry.
The production for the Huntress Trials tournament will be overseen by Jakob ‘Atroix’ Szmyt and will include his esports production second year students at Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies.
Original article (January 26th 2022):
UK esports organisation Rix.GG has announced it is pausing its Valorant ‘Thunder’ project for the foreseeable future.
Thunder was Rix.GG’s Valorant first team which had takent part in the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT), Icebox tournaments and more.
Rix.GG said that while it won’t be looking for a replacement roster, it remains “committed to finding its place in the Valorant professional scene” and to its “mission of promoting inclusion and diversity in esports”.
Rix.GG’s separate female ‘Lightning’ team, first announced in 2021, remains unaffected and is participating in Valorant Game Changers.
![](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827160717315670017/935942484956184596/thunder_released_bg2000x1000.png)
“I’m incredibly proud of everything this team has accomplished and proved in their time with Rix, however, this makes it even harder to release the team. We will be stepping away from the Valorant Thunder programme for the time being.”
Zack Chandler, Rix.GG
All the ‘Thunder’ players remain under contract but are free to explore other options for the Valorant Regional League (VRL) qualifiers. Those interested in trialling any of the players can email [email protected].
While playing for Rix.GG, the Valorant ‘Thunder’ roster remained in the top 20 esports organisations in the EU, took third place in the Icebox Northern Classic, and finished 5th/6th in the Champions Tour Europe Stage 3: Challengers 2.
Zack Chandler, head of esports at Rix.GG, said: “Sometimes the best thing to do is take a step back and evaluate the situation. I’ve had the honour of getting to know each of these players and spending time with them in person, and I’m fortunate enough to see them as friends.
“I’m incredibly proud of everything this team has accomplished and proved in their time with Rix, however, this makes it even harder to release the team. We will be stepping away from the Valorant Thunder programme for the time being.”
Jay Batzofin, team manager, added: “It’s with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to Thunder. I watched the team grow and win. I felt when they failed, and I celebrated in their victories. Some of my best esports moments were watching this team excel in their craft. I wish them all the best and hope they find a team that gets them to where they deserve to be. Thank you for being a part of Rix. I’ll miss you all.”
In other recent UK Valorant news, LDN UTD reached the VCT 2022 EMEA Stage 1 Challengers after beating Excel in closed qualifier lower bracket final.
![](https://esports-news.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/DomSacco300x300.jpg)
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.